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(sk#^ trojan
Volume CHI, Number 53 University of Southern California Tuesday, April 7, 1987
Possibility of AIDS on campus prompts thinking about offering students testing
Virus screening process only in 'talking stages'
By Ruth Mize
Assistant City Editor
AIDS is on campus and the prominence of the disease is causing university health officials to take a second look at AIDS screening.
"People have been diagnosed as having AIDS, have gotten sick and have left," said Allen Ebbin, executive director of the Student Health Center. "Some have come for medical withdrawal and that means they are not here. They are so sick that they are leaving school."
Ebbin said screening on campus is only in the ' talking stages" and that any kind of testing "involves education, screening and couseling." Asked if there were any students on campus presently with AIDS he said, "I imagine there are."
Teresa Snyder, outreach nurse for the Student Health Center, said it is impossible to know how prevalent the disease is on campus.
"Not everyone comes into the health center to be diagnosed and we don't do any screening. We get a lot of calls every day from people wanting to know where they can be screened," she said, adding that the calls come from both sexes and most request general information.
Presently the Health Sciences Campus is preparing a feasibility study of screening on campus. This protocol will be presented to internal review boards at the university after completion. Scott Aguilar, a clinical nurse specialist in the department of hemotology at the School of Medicine, is on the AIDS task force that is preparing the protocol.
"We (Health Sciences Campus personnel) would actually be doing all the work involved," Aguilar said. The blood will be drawn on the University Park Campus and then transferred to the Health Sciences Campus for testing.
"Anybody with photo ID could be tested and we would be using a random code number. The person would have to come back with the code number to get the results."
Funding for such a project is still being sought. Even though Snyder said she believes the bill for any type of testing would ultimately be picked up by students, Aguilar is seeking complete outside sponsorship.
"We have submitted a request for grants to several different places. There is a key amount of money for research available," he said.
AIDS testing costs anywhere from $35 to $100, depending on whether the test is conducted by a non-profit clinic or a private physician.
Snyder said she was still apprehensive about the testing.
"Confidentiality — you have to be sure that you provide it if you do screening," she said. 'Testing is not that easy. There is a stigma in-
volved. It affects peoples' lives, careers, incomes."
Dr. Steve Olsen of the Student Health Center agreed that anonymity is a top priority.
"If it's a positive AIDS antibody test, and even if you're not ill, it gives a suggestion to an insurance company or a future employer if they are able to obtain medical records on you. It would indicate that you may not be a prime candidate for long-term employment. You certainly would not be a good candidate for an insurance company," Olsen said.
"The (California) Legislature has passed a law that requires us to maintain anonymity if we ever test anybody for the AIDS antibody," he said.
Eventually, most places will probably have to provide screening. Los Angeles County has not provided enough centers for screening and facilities that are available are backed up, Snyder said.
"Hollywood has a 10-week waiting list. They are supposed to be opening two more testing centers by the end of April in Los Angeles," Aguilar said. To add to the dilemma, results ar-
(Continued on page 14)
Student dies, boyfriend hurt in car accident
By Linda Chong
Staff Writer
Gina Marie McCulley, a 20-year-old university student from Long Beach, died in a traffic accident in Holbrook, Ariz., Sunday afternoon, when the car she and her boyfriend were traveling in flipped after swerving.
The passenger, Stewart Ibrahim, 19, a student at Rio Hondo Junior College, is at Flagstaff Hospital after suffering internal bleeding.
McCulley was taken to Holbrook Hospital, northeast of Flagstaff, after suffering "massive internal trauma," said Claudia Baca, an Arizona Highway Patrol officer. McCully died at about 3:14 p.m.
Ibrahim said he and McCulley were traveling back to California after visiting McCulley's relatives, who live in Illinois and Iowa. He said McCulley was driving a gray and blue 1986 Chevy Blazer when "she lost control."
"I really don't know exactly what happened, but we started flipping," Ibrahim said. "I still don't know what the hell has happened to me.
"We were really looking forward to this trip. We had thought of flying and of taking the train, but we figured that taking the car would be the cheapest way (of traveling)."
The two were traveling west on Interstate 40 in Holbrook, a "mountainous" area where the road winds sharply, Baca said.
McCulley "overcorrected" by turning the steering wheel quickly to compensate for a swerve, but the car slid off the right shoulder where it rolled over three times, she said.
Neither McCulley nor Ibrahim was wearing seatbelts and no one witnessed the accident, Baca said. Causes and details are still being investigated by the Arizona Highway Patrol.
Notification to the students' parents was made early yesterday morning by local police (Continued on page 8)
University will observe VD Awareness Month
By Julia Kirkendall
Staff Writer
April has been designated as Venereal Disease Awareness Month by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, said Alvin Ransom, senior health educator for the county's sexually transmitted disease program.
The month is part of a statewide "informational campaign" to educate the general public about sexually transmitted diseases, Ransom said.
The month will call attention to the fact that venereal diseases are still a problem, and will feature an increased availability of information regarding prevention, symptoms, and transmission of venereal diseases, he said.
The most common sexually transmitted disease in Los Angeles County is chlamydia, which is estimated to affect more than 100,000 people in Los Angeles, but it is not a reportable disease so health officials can only estimate the precise numbers.
Gonorrhea, with more than 52,000 cases reported in 1986, and syphilis, with about 2,600 cases reported, are other prevalent diseases in Los Angeles.
This year's "VD Awareness Month" will focus on a resistant strain of gonorrhea called penicillnase-producing neisseria gonorrhoeae. This strain is unique because it cannot be treated by penicillin and requires a special test for diagnosis, Ransom said.
"This specific type of resistant gonorrhea is creating a
The most common sexually transmitted disease in Los Angeles County is chlamydia, which is estimated to affect more than 100,000 people in Los Angeles.
problem locally," he said.
In 1986, the number of reported cases of resistant gonorrhea in Los Angeles increased 93 percent from 1985. Because this strain is more difficult to diagnose and requires special treatment, lack of awareness of the disease leaves those cases out there to potentially proliferate, he said.
If sexually transmitted diseases go untreated, a number of repercussions can occur.
In the cases of gonorrhea and chlamydia, there is a risk of sterility for men and women. In women, the diseases can progress into pelvic inflammatory disease as well as cause pregnancies to occur outside of the uterus, Ransom said.
"Syphilis can affect any organ system in the body," he said, adding that it could cause heart problems, brain
damage and, over a very prolonged period, death.
When diseases are transmitted to newborn babies they can cause such problems as eye and lung infections and brain damage, Ransom said.
He described some of the general symptoms of venereal diseases as penile or vaginal discharge, pain or burning when urinating, or the presence of rashes or sores.
In some cases of sexually transmitted diseases, symptoms are not apparent, he said.
"In cases of gonorrhea, for instance, as many as 80 percent of females may not have any symptoms," or may have negligible symptoms, Ransom said. An increasing numbers of males, about 20 to 30 percent, are also asymptomatic, he added.
Because venereal diseases can be elusive, Ransom recommended that sexually active individuals develop a "systematic means of examination," whereby they are checked by physicians at regular intervals.
Abstinence is the best prevention of infection, he said. If an individual is not going to abstain, using condoms and limiting the number of sexual partners are good preventative measures.
If a person suspects they have an infection, they should stop having sex immediately and see a physician for diagnosis and treatment, Ransom said. To ensure that doctors discover the infection, patients should be specific in de-
(Continued on page 12)

(sk#^ trojan
Volume CHI, Number 53 University of Southern California Tuesday, April 7, 1987
Possibility of AIDS on campus prompts thinking about offering students testing
Virus screening process only in 'talking stages'
By Ruth Mize
Assistant City Editor
AIDS is on campus and the prominence of the disease is causing university health officials to take a second look at AIDS screening.
"People have been diagnosed as having AIDS, have gotten sick and have left," said Allen Ebbin, executive director of the Student Health Center. "Some have come for medical withdrawal and that means they are not here. They are so sick that they are leaving school."
Ebbin said screening on campus is only in the ' talking stages" and that any kind of testing "involves education, screening and couseling." Asked if there were any students on campus presently with AIDS he said, "I imagine there are."
Teresa Snyder, outreach nurse for the Student Health Center, said it is impossible to know how prevalent the disease is on campus.
"Not everyone comes into the health center to be diagnosed and we don't do any screening. We get a lot of calls every day from people wanting to know where they can be screened," she said, adding that the calls come from both sexes and most request general information.
Presently the Health Sciences Campus is preparing a feasibility study of screening on campus. This protocol will be presented to internal review boards at the university after completion. Scott Aguilar, a clinical nurse specialist in the department of hemotology at the School of Medicine, is on the AIDS task force that is preparing the protocol.
"We (Health Sciences Campus personnel) would actually be doing all the work involved," Aguilar said. The blood will be drawn on the University Park Campus and then transferred to the Health Sciences Campus for testing.
"Anybody with photo ID could be tested and we would be using a random code number. The person would have to come back with the code number to get the results."
Funding for such a project is still being sought. Even though Snyder said she believes the bill for any type of testing would ultimately be picked up by students, Aguilar is seeking complete outside sponsorship.
"We have submitted a request for grants to several different places. There is a key amount of money for research available," he said.
AIDS testing costs anywhere from $35 to $100, depending on whether the test is conducted by a non-profit clinic or a private physician.
Snyder said she was still apprehensive about the testing.
"Confidentiality — you have to be sure that you provide it if you do screening," she said. 'Testing is not that easy. There is a stigma in-
volved. It affects peoples' lives, careers, incomes."
Dr. Steve Olsen of the Student Health Center agreed that anonymity is a top priority.
"If it's a positive AIDS antibody test, and even if you're not ill, it gives a suggestion to an insurance company or a future employer if they are able to obtain medical records on you. It would indicate that you may not be a prime candidate for long-term employment. You certainly would not be a good candidate for an insurance company," Olsen said.
"The (California) Legislature has passed a law that requires us to maintain anonymity if we ever test anybody for the AIDS antibody," he said.
Eventually, most places will probably have to provide screening. Los Angeles County has not provided enough centers for screening and facilities that are available are backed up, Snyder said.
"Hollywood has a 10-week waiting list. They are supposed to be opening two more testing centers by the end of April in Los Angeles," Aguilar said. To add to the dilemma, results ar-
(Continued on page 14)
Student dies, boyfriend hurt in car accident
By Linda Chong
Staff Writer
Gina Marie McCulley, a 20-year-old university student from Long Beach, died in a traffic accident in Holbrook, Ariz., Sunday afternoon, when the car she and her boyfriend were traveling in flipped after swerving.
The passenger, Stewart Ibrahim, 19, a student at Rio Hondo Junior College, is at Flagstaff Hospital after suffering internal bleeding.
McCulley was taken to Holbrook Hospital, northeast of Flagstaff, after suffering "massive internal trauma," said Claudia Baca, an Arizona Highway Patrol officer. McCully died at about 3:14 p.m.
Ibrahim said he and McCulley were traveling back to California after visiting McCulley's relatives, who live in Illinois and Iowa. He said McCulley was driving a gray and blue 1986 Chevy Blazer when "she lost control."
"I really don't know exactly what happened, but we started flipping," Ibrahim said. "I still don't know what the hell has happened to me.
"We were really looking forward to this trip. We had thought of flying and of taking the train, but we figured that taking the car would be the cheapest way (of traveling)."
The two were traveling west on Interstate 40 in Holbrook, a "mountainous" area where the road winds sharply, Baca said.
McCulley "overcorrected" by turning the steering wheel quickly to compensate for a swerve, but the car slid off the right shoulder where it rolled over three times, she said.
Neither McCulley nor Ibrahim was wearing seatbelts and no one witnessed the accident, Baca said. Causes and details are still being investigated by the Arizona Highway Patrol.
Notification to the students' parents was made early yesterday morning by local police (Continued on page 8)
University will observe VD Awareness Month
By Julia Kirkendall
Staff Writer
April has been designated as Venereal Disease Awareness Month by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, said Alvin Ransom, senior health educator for the county's sexually transmitted disease program.
The month is part of a statewide "informational campaign" to educate the general public about sexually transmitted diseases, Ransom said.
The month will call attention to the fact that venereal diseases are still a problem, and will feature an increased availability of information regarding prevention, symptoms, and transmission of venereal diseases, he said.
The most common sexually transmitted disease in Los Angeles County is chlamydia, which is estimated to affect more than 100,000 people in Los Angeles, but it is not a reportable disease so health officials can only estimate the precise numbers.
Gonorrhea, with more than 52,000 cases reported in 1986, and syphilis, with about 2,600 cases reported, are other prevalent diseases in Los Angeles.
This year's "VD Awareness Month" will focus on a resistant strain of gonorrhea called penicillnase-producing neisseria gonorrhoeae. This strain is unique because it cannot be treated by penicillin and requires a special test for diagnosis, Ransom said.
"This specific type of resistant gonorrhea is creating a
The most common sexually transmitted disease in Los Angeles County is chlamydia, which is estimated to affect more than 100,000 people in Los Angeles.
problem locally," he said.
In 1986, the number of reported cases of resistant gonorrhea in Los Angeles increased 93 percent from 1985. Because this strain is more difficult to diagnose and requires special treatment, lack of awareness of the disease leaves those cases out there to potentially proliferate, he said.
If sexually transmitted diseases go untreated, a number of repercussions can occur.
In the cases of gonorrhea and chlamydia, there is a risk of sterility for men and women. In women, the diseases can progress into pelvic inflammatory disease as well as cause pregnancies to occur outside of the uterus, Ransom said.
"Syphilis can affect any organ system in the body," he said, adding that it could cause heart problems, brain
damage and, over a very prolonged period, death.
When diseases are transmitted to newborn babies they can cause such problems as eye and lung infections and brain damage, Ransom said.
He described some of the general symptoms of venereal diseases as penile or vaginal discharge, pain or burning when urinating, or the presence of rashes or sores.
In some cases of sexually transmitted diseases, symptoms are not apparent, he said.
"In cases of gonorrhea, for instance, as many as 80 percent of females may not have any symptoms," or may have negligible symptoms, Ransom said. An increasing numbers of males, about 20 to 30 percent, are also asymptomatic, he added.
Because venereal diseases can be elusive, Ransom recommended that sexually active individuals develop a "systematic means of examination," whereby they are checked by physicians at regular intervals.
Abstinence is the best prevention of infection, he said. If an individual is not going to abstain, using condoms and limiting the number of sexual partners are good preventative measures.
If a person suspects they have an infection, they should stop having sex immediately and see a physician for diagnosis and treatment, Ransom said. To ensure that doctors discover the infection, patients should be specific in de-
(Continued on page 12)